Following considerable delays, the new DOW insecticide has recently received registration from the Irish authorities. The registration is for the brand names CLOSER™ and TRANSFORM™, both of which contain a new insecticide ingredient known as Isoclast™ Active.

Isoclast is the trade name for the active sulfoxaflor, and this is the first product from a new chemical family of insecticides called the sulfoximines.

Being a different family means that it provides a very useful control tool in the face of resistance fears in other chemical classes.

The insecticide is being marketed as two different commercial products. Transform is a solid WG formulation (500g/kg) to be used on all cereals including barley, wheat and oats, winter and spring. Closer is a liquid SC formulation (120g/l) which can be used on potatoes, lettuce and brassicas, but it is not cleared for use on oilseed rape.

However, Transform is not yet an option for BYDV prevention as its earliest application timing has been set at GS39, which is too late for that use. That said, its presence in the market should help take some of the selection pressure off of other actives.

It is understood that the manufacturer is now generating additional data to submit more information to help support a wider application window and possibly additional crops like pulses.